Cambridge Coincidences Collection

Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University wants to know about your coincidences!

When I was a child, my brother's friend Iain was at our house. The phone rang and the caller asked to speak to Iain. It wasn't anyone who we knew and it turned out that he had actually tried to call Iain's home number, mis-dialled it and reached us. (We had a similar phone number.)

When I studied English at Worcester University my lecturer was a Mike B. He had a great style of teaching and everyone was very amused by his wry comments and sense of humour, so much so that some of his observations became a part of my character too. I told my wife this when we went on our honeymoon to Portugal some ten years later. The last weekend of the holiday we drove in our hire car down to Lisbon, and found a hotel on spec (no planning at all, it just looked nice). The next morning we went down for breakfast at 8am.

A few years ago, my wife and I attended a play at the Mill at Sonning, where we go only every few years. Geoffrey Palmer appeared in the play. The very next morning I had to go to London by train, again something I rarely do. Ascending the escalator at Waterloo, I passed Geoffrey Palmer coming down the other side.

My husband and I were on holiday in Egypt a about 20 years ago and we met a lovely young English girl on the trip who we kept in contact with sending Christmas cards and even went to her wedding.
Imagine my surprise when she sent me a Christmas card a couple of years ago and said she had seen the house of her dreams in my home town, but the deal had fallen through and she was disappointed.
Turns out she moved in to her (dream home) eventually, a few months later, it is in the next avenue to me and was owned by one of my colleagues at work who was moving down south. What a coincidence.

Around 1988 my mother used to allow a New Zeland cricket professional lodge at her home for 2 seasons. He was the professional for the local cricket club my brother used to play for. After he left and returned to New Zeland there was no contact with him.
My mother mover houses approx 3 years later and my brother bought her house where she used to live when the cricketer lodged with her.
Approx 6 years later my mother passed away at 2am in hospital. At 8am on that day the cricketer rang her former home telephone number and my brother who now owned the house with the same telephone number.

Many years ago I phoned a friend of mine, Sarah. On picking up the receiver (house phone, pre-mobile days), instead of hearing a dial tone the line was blank. After a short pause I heard a "hello", and it was Sarah! She had phoned me and I had picked up my phone to call her just before it started to ring.

good morning
i heard your piece on the radio this morning and you quoted the chances of
three children born to the same parents and sharing birthdays. my example is
similar in that myself and my brother (two only children) share our birthday
with our mother. i was born on her 23rd birthday and my brother was born on
her 34th birthday. myself 2 days late and my brother 10 days late. what are
the chances of that?
regards
art

Back in 1971 whilst still an architecture student my friend and I decided to go to Greece. We both had summer jobs and I decided to leave early and hitch hike to Athens. My friend was to fly out later and I would meet him at the airport. I duely hitch hiked to Athens and was there for about a week before his flight was due. Somehow As the plane was due in just after midnight one of us must have got confused about the date and he wasn't on the plane. This was before mobile phones so I assumed he changed his mind.

My mom and my dad had dated, briefly and not seriously. They both planned to visit Europe at the same time, so she sent him a letter (semi?)-jokingly proposing that they meet on the steps on the Vatican on a particular day and time and tour it together. He never got the letter. He did however decide to tour the Vatican and, remarkably, chose the day and time that she had specified. There she was, waiting for him.
They got back together and were married a couple of years later.
If that was the plot of a movie, nobody would believe it.

Upon graduating from Cambridge in June 1961 I pursued an International Business Career objective of living and working in South America, becoming a trainee with Balfour Williamson in the City, transferring to their subsidiary SACAE in Guayaquil, Ecuador in March 1962.
Upon my arrival I was introduced to the English Managing Director of SACAE, whiose name was John W. The first personal question he asked me following the initial business discussions, related to my Mother' name!